Summary: This episode is an exploration of death: Bollo is getting old and it is clear that he is dying (not that anybody seems too bothered, as always). While Vince is busy caring for Bollo in his last hours, Bob Fossil alerts Howard to yet another problem: the woman who sponsors Bollo is coming to visit and Fossil cannot let her see that the gorilla is ill. Howard is forced into dressing up as a gorilla and sitting in Bollo’s enclosure for the day and this results in The Grim Reaper getting confused and taking the wrong person off to ‘Monkey Hell’. Vince must rescue Howard from the Ape of Death before he is dropped into the fiery pits…

What Else? This episode has a beautiful moment near the beginning where both Noel and Howard are trying not to laugh for whatever reason. It also has the brilliant ‘floating cup’ scene as well as the appearance of Mr Susan and his mirror balls (look at them shine). Whilst Bollo is on his deathbed, the lovely little jingle of ‘the sun is shining, and you’re feeling fine, and the birds are singing in the trees’ is sung as well as the brilliant song from the Ape of Death towards the end.

Summary: There is a crisis at the Zooniverse: the animals, and even the quiet Joey Moose, have gradually been going missing and nobody knows who the culprit is (well, half of the staff haven’t even noticed). However, all hell breaks loose when Vince discovers that Bollo, too, has been snatched, as well as Mrs Gideon’s beloved python. The evil mastermind behind the trouble is the one and only Dixon Bainbridge who has been making mutants in his Secret Lab. Don’t worry, he has his reasoning: “Times have changed, zoos are over. You see a rhino, big deal. You see a wolf, who cares? You see a rhino with a wolf’s head- that’s a kind of twisted poetry”. His demands are getting out of hand as he orders Fossil to “get me a human person” and Howard is in severe danger of becoming a ‘mansnake’…

What Else? This episode features another one of Fossil’s iconic scenes, his quirky song: “Nicey nicey zoo zoo, for him and her, and me and you” as well as further development of Fossil’s inability to name the animals, for example, he refers to the elephant as the ‘grey leg faced man’. Howard demonstrates his brilliant skill for disguises, such as hiding behind a bunch of pink balloons: it’s true, he is a maverick.

Quote of the Episode:

Howard: “It’s very visually noisy, your face. It’s like a brass band under a wig”

Familiar Faces: Dave Brown as Joey Moose again, and more of Matt Berry’s Dixon Bainbridge. If you look closely, Dave Brown and Rich Fulcher can be picked out behind the mutant make up!

I thought I’d try something different today and post something I watched/listened to that was comedy-related for each working day of last week. Many of these items will probably evolve into a separate post in the coming months so this is a small taster for that I guess.

Monday: Henning Wehn: No Surrender!

There isn’t a lot on on Monday nights, apparently, so this week I start watching Henning Wehn’s 2013 stand-up show as I bought it months ago and he’s one of my favourite comedians. I only watched an hour or so on Monday because I have to fit all this in between my GCSE exams that take up so much time! But what I should say, even though I’ve said it before, is that Henning Wehn deserves a way bigger audience than he has- I think he is hilarious because he takes the German stereotype and gives us what many people secretly expect, then goes beyond that. For example, his first stand up DVD was called My Struggle and I don’t think it gets any more stereotypical than that: I love it.

Tuesday: Sweat The Small Stuff

I regularly watch popular panel shows as they are a great way of finding new comedy talent and are generally just nice, easy viewing and although I don’t make an effort to watch every episode of Sweat The Small Stuff like I do for other shows, I enjoy it here and there. Series three is currently showing on BBC Three and this week I caught up with episode five as my April Comedian of the Month, Bobby Mair, was a guest. This episode really made me laugh and Bobby definitely stole the show (though I may be biased). Every single week the challenge for Melvin and Rochelle gets more and more awkward and it’s brilliant: this one was brilliant; you should definitely check it out.

Wednesday: Derek

Watching Derek is currently one of the comedy highlights of my week: it is an absolute beauty of a show and I recommend you all watch it (I’m going to write up a proper post when the series has finished). This week, Derek, along with residents of the old peoples home and manager Hannah, visited the zoo and it was genuinely such a lovely piece of television. Derek in no way ridicules anyone with learning difficulties, or old people. In fact, it doesn’t ridicule anyonethe show is very inclusive. There are a few big laughs each episode, along with a few tears. I am always left feeling happy after watching Derek because it leaves us with life lessons and also makes me laugh, a lot.

Thursday: Jonah From Tonga

I’ve talked before about how wonderful I think Chris Lilley is, and yet again will probably talk about this programme more extensively in a separate post so will keep this brief. Lilley’s work feels timeless to me as although this is new programme, it has the same feel as Summer Heights High from 2008 yet doesn’t bore me in the slightest. This man can effortlessly switch from playing a teenage girl to a camp drama teacher to a Tongan school drop-out and it is remarkable. Jonah is also a character from Summer Heights High and has always been one of my favourites so I look forward to where this new show will take us.

Friday: Fubar Radio

Fubar Radio is a brand new radio station that I was lucky enough to grab a free year’s subscription to due to a code from Richard Herring (not personally don’t get excited though he did tweet me once). I first heard about Fubar through Joey Page on Twitter who I think is really funny so wanted to hear more from him etc and I have completely fallen in love with it. Joey could tell you himself that I am in regular contact with the show which is every Friday from 1pm until 4pm: I just can’t help myself. His show is so easy to listen to and the music choices are on top form (except for that time they kept playing Beck and I got really self-conscious). But yeah, I really enjoy listening to the Joey Page Show on Fubar and would recommend it to anyone, not just comedy fans. But seriously, if you are a comedy fan, you WILL faint when you see the rest of Fubar’s lineup.

As well as all of this, I make sure I listen to my favourite podcast, The Comedian’s Comedian every morning before school as it helps me forget that I am about to go to school (yet it’s a pretty intellectual podcast so I don’t need to feel too guilty).

So that was a little comedy-style week in the life of Becca and I hope I’ve brought some new shows to your attention or just entertained you for five minutes, who knows?

Summary: All is well at the Zooniverse until Bob Fossil sends a message over for Howard to visit him in his office urgently. It turns out that Mr Fossil has acquired some photos of Howard ‘in the nude’ and he subsequently uses them to blackmail Howard into fighting a kangaroo in order to get some more money circulating the Zoo. Mrs Gideon, a reptile keeper at the Zoo, has a special place in the heart of old Howard and Vince convinces him to fight the kangaroo to impress her (anything would be better than dear Mrs Gideon witnessing Howard’s additional growth). Howard must now prepare for the big fight, which everyone knows he is destined to lose…

What Else? This episode features the first ever properly televised Boosh crimp: Captain Cabinets and also includes the famous I Don’t Like Cricket! scene. It seems that many of the most famous Boosh moments originated in the first episode. There is a definite feeling that the people behind The Mighty Boosh were very keen to challenge the basic principles of a sitcom, such as in the scene where Vince takes Howard to visit his ‘uncle’ to train him for the fight:

‘Uncle’: “There’s only one way to get this boy ready for the fight”

Vince: “Training montage!”

‘Uncle’: “With music!”

Quote of the Episode:

Vince:“I’ve felt your moves, how flimsy are they? They’re like being caressed with a natural yoghurt.”

Although this show isn’t particularly new, I still feel it deserves some praise and I’d like to get some more people to check it out if they haven’t already. Not enough people talk about the SitCom Lead Balloon, that ran from 2007 to 2011 (running for four series) and was written by the brilliant Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair and also starred Dee as the down-beat and sarcastic Rick Spleen.

I would describe it as almost an anti-comedy as the plot revolves around Rick Spleen, a failed and world-weary comedian, going about his daily life and just upsetting people as he does so. Rick lives with his lovely wife, Mel, and teenage daughter, Sam. He spends his days with friend and writing partner, Marty, who is undeniably wittier than Rick himself, and they have lunch in the same café every day- the café belonging to Michael. Sam, her boyfriend, Ben, and the house cleaner, Magda, together manage to get under Rick’s feet and continuously irritate him as he grumpily goes about his daily business. As a result of his unaddressed anger, Rick manages to make all the wrong choices and simultaneously annoy everyone in his path. Every episode presents countless disasters for Rick that are actually caused by himself in the first place.

There are two characters that I absolutely adore: Michael (played by Tony Gardner), the loveable but almost certainly ‘unhinged’ cafe owner, and Magda (Anna Crilly), the house cleaner, who is grumpy and sarcastic and has a very strong, unspecified Eastern-European accent. One of my favourite episodes was S1E3, where Michael holds a sponsored skip to raise money for a mental health charity. To cut the story short (sorry, spoilers), Michael winds up being hit by a car (Rick’s) and the way the plot plays out is truly hilarious.

The format of the programme is simple, repetitive and homely. There are many recurring jokes throughout and I’ll outline them to give you more of an overview as to what each episode entails:

Marty is a lot funnier than Rick.

Sam’s boyfriend, Ben, never commits to anything properly.

Sam is always after her dad’s money.

Michael is creepy (unknown mental health issues).

Mel is always right.

Rick will always upset most people/dig himself a hole.

There are many parallels to be drawn between Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Jack Dee’s Lead Balloon:

“Many people have compared Lead Balloon with a similarly excruciating comedy from the US, Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Dee, however, says that Curb didn’t directly inspire his sitcom. ‘Lead Balloon was about me taking 20 years of stand-up and putting that kind of comedy into a dramatic situation. I would claim my right to that comedy because I’ve been doing it for a lot longer than Curb Your Enthusiasm has been around, much as I love it.’ “

I love Lead Balloon because it is simple, uncomfortable and warm. I’m a firm believer that it is also accessible to pretty much anyone and it has a fond place in my heart.

The 18th May 2014 marks the ten year anniversary of the first episode of The Mighty Boosh and as it is my favourite programme of all time, I thought I should do something a bit special to celebrate. I feel that the rush of everyday life can get in the way of appreciating the show in all its glory so have decided to revisit every episode from the very beginning. There will be an individual post each of the show’s 20 episodes, staggered over a few months, as I want to keep a variation of posts on the site. If you haven’t watched The Mighty Boosh before, this is your push to do so as it is honestly one of the loveliest, funniest and most original shows there has ever been.

But first, a little overview of the show for those of you who somehow haven’t seen it, or maybe just want a recap.

The Mighty Boosh is the birthplace of many of my favourite comedians and is a work of visual, as well as comedic art. The frontmen, of course, are Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (Julian Barratt), an unlikely pairing of two complete opposites. Howard, a sombre, mellow jazz maverick with a great interest in poetry and stationery, and Vince, doe-eyed bimbo sunshine man, obsessed with fashion and celebrity culture. Series One is set in the Zooniverse where the duo live with Naboo, the mystical shaman (Mike Fielding) and Bollo, the sarcastic gorilla (Dave Brown). The Zoo is run by foul-mouthed dancing queen Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher). A well-rounded group I’d say. Throughout this series, the Zoo undergoes many difficulties as well as being visited by many questionable personalities such as Dixon Bainbridge (Matt Berry).

Series Two signalled a change for the Boosh Boys upon their move to the flat above the Nabootique, a gift shop. Bollo has been promoted to shopkeeper’s assistant and Bob Fossil has disappeared off the scene (although Fulcher reoccurs as various characters throughout). And finally, Series Three is where the boys are given reign over the shop, while Naboo goes out on various errands. In most episodes, Naboo returns with Bollo to find his shop in disarray and it is up to him to fix whatever went wrong. Oh trusty Naboo.

The programme features many familiar faces (that I will go into as they appear during the episode guides) but most of the characters are played by Noel, Julian, Dave, Mike and Rich. I’m sure you are aware of the variety of characters involved, ranging from Tommy Nooka with his head of cheese to sexual predator of the sea, Old Gregg. The episodes are also broken up with the most wonderful little songs, called Crimps, that can lighten the mood no matter how desperate the situation.

Twitter is often used by young and old people alike to stalk their favourite celebrities, express mundane facts and controversial opinions or to sell products to the public. Noel Fielding, however, has recently decided to use the social networking site in a new way- he has made a brave attempt at trying to spread some creativity throughout the world of Twitter and encourage people to revive their artistic side.

I love art and thought it was a brilliant idea which was picked up by hundreds of bright and adoring fans. Noel gave himself and his followers half an hour on two separate occasions to create an artistic response to a given theme (first, horses and secondly, Elvis Presley). When the time was up, he would post his creations (always absolutely wonderful) then retweet a load of other peoples’ that were his favourites. After all this, he reposted his third, second and first place.

The competition was open to everyone: artistic genius to quirky doodler and everything in between which gained an awesome response from the people of Twitter. I think Twitter should have more of this stuff going on as it is refreshing, inspiring and original. Hats off to you Mr Fielding! Now let’s have another Art Club soon yeah.

The galleries above and below feature some of my favourite responses to both themes.

Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

Bobby Mair is from Canada (what is this with so many great comics coming from Canada?) and seems to me like a complete maniac in the most brilliant and charming way possible. This quote from Jimmy Carr sums him up perfectly:

“He’s either going to be a huge international comedy star or the funniest homeless man ever.”

I think Bobby is very brave which is so important if you want to be an influential comic. His act, his whole persona, is very different to other comics I know but there are hints of Paul Foot but then also more of your ‘common’ comedian. It’s a really interesting mix. His material isn’t too far-fetched from what a regular comedy audience may be expecting but his delivery is quirky and fast-paced which makes him slightly, almost uncomfortably different which is brilliant. For example, in his short set for Russell Howard’s Good News in 2013 he mixes topical almost-one-liners about Justin Bieber with a dissection of why cats are suicidal.

Sometimes his material seems to border on one-liners which is great because it makes him really easy to listen to, the laughs are quick and punchy and it just adds interest. For example, he started one segment of a set with:

“The worst thing about having a cold is that when you smell women’s hair on the bus, they can hear you.”

And then went on to expand on it. I think this is cool as he shocks with one statement then backtracks and adds detail, almost like the reverse of a joke.

He is relatively young, having only been in the UK for a couple of years and being just 27 (I think). Bobby was adopted and has recently embarked on a campaign to find his biological family. His 2013 Edinburgh show: Obviously Adopted also covers this and I want to wish him the best of luck with that! His Twitter is here, if you’re interested and I recommend you check some of his stuff out as it is truly unique and very heart-warming!

Yesterday evening, I finally got to see Joe Lycett’s show If Joe Lycett Then You Should’ve Put A Ring On It after waiting for such a long time. I saw him last month at a comedy night but we only got to see a limited set due to there being other comedians there.

Joe’s set was basically an extended version of the set I saw at the Comedy Hut but was just as funny, if not funnier the second time around. The show featured many of his famous letters of complaint that he had sent out to various companies (this was one of my favourite parts of the show) which were delivered in Joe’s brilliantly exaggerated manner and this is what really ‘makes’ them. The way these complaints were so pedantic and utterly self-indulgent is why they are fantastic- it reminds me a bit of Rich Fulcher’s book: Tiny Acts Of Rebellion which is full of silly but hilarious ways to break the rules of society. He also featured hate mail that he had received which was funny in the same way, and the insults were so imaginative, you can’t help but applaud the guy who sent them.

There was a big focus on homophobia but not in a heavy, rally kind of way, just in the sense that comedy addresses things that are often very serious but adds a lighter slant to them. (For example, Paul Foot talks about the levels of homophobia in his jokes called ‘Disturbances’.) There was a great game Joe played with the audience where we had to decide what percentage of ‘gay’ certain things had. Just counting the days until that becomes televised really.

My absolute favourite part, without giving too much away, is Joe’s spirit animal: Walrus. I agree with him that horoscopes etc are rubbish but absolutely love the idea of having a spirit animal like Walrus, he sounds like such a great guy. I’d love to be able to blame my horribleness on a walrus and the way Joe talked about his experience with Walrus had the audience in tears of laughter.

Yesterday evening brought Roisin Conaty’s pilot episode of the show she wrote and stars in, GameFace to 4OD.I absolutely adore Roisin so knew it would be brilliant. Her role as Jo in Man Down (featuring Greg Davies) was utterly hilarious and it’s one of my favourite sitcoms of the past few months.

The pilot followed Marcella: a young, under-achieving party lover who is attempting to put her life back on track by starting driving lessons and attending therapy to enable her to have a ‘fresh start’ on her birthday. She describes herself as a ‘Lone Wolf’ but this is misinterpreted as ‘Lonely Wolf’ by her therapist (if that’s what I should call him), and I think this is something that could be followed up if and when a series progresses from the pilot because obviously the audience will eventually develop emotional attachments to the main characters.

Many familiar faces popped up throughout the episode including Joel Dommett (Conaty’s Impractical Jokers Pal) as the pizza boy, in one of my favourite scenes of the episode, and Mike Wozniak who played the part of Brian in Man Down. There were also lots of people I didn’t recognise which is always good as I’m always up for broadening my horizons.

As well as the pilot being very very funny, Roisin made me feel like a normal human by saying something along the lines of:

“Breakfast isn’t that important. If you’re hungry you’re hungry, if not just get on with your day.”

I’m SO glad someone else said it as this is the one thing in my life that makes me feel most like an outcast (ha).

I really can’t wait for a series to be made of GameFace as I love Rosin Conaty, the scripting was excellent and there were many unique aspects to the programme that I liked such as the parts where Marcella is sat in her therapist’s office and there are flashbacks to the events of her previous week. There is definitely space for the storyline to develop and I can’t see how I’d ever get bored of this wonderful new show!